No Water After a Freeze? Temporary Potable Water for NJ Homes and Businesses

Published November 11, 2026 · A Clear Alternative Water, Pennsauken NJ, since 1991

If your taps go dry or slow to a trickle on a bitter New Jersey morning, a frozen pipe is the most likely cause. The American Red Cross advice is simple: keep the faucet open, warm the frozen section with an electric heating pad, hair dryer, space heater or hot towels, and never use an open flame. If you cannot find or thaw the frozen spot, call a licensed plumber. When the freeze cracks a pipe, a service line or a well line, the repair can take days. During that time, a licensed potable water hauler can fill a tank on site so the building keeps working. A Clear Alternative delivers certified potable water to homes, farms and businesses in all 21 New Jersey counties, 24 hours a day. Call 1-888-577-8088.

The First Hour Without Water

1. Check whether neighbors have water. If they do not, call your water supplier about a main break.
2. Find your main shutoff valve and make sure everyone in the house knows where it is.
3. Look for wet ceilings, walls or floors, which can mean a pipe has already split.
4. Keep heat on in the building and open cabinet doors under sinks.
5. Set aside bottled water for drinking and a few buckets for flushing toilets.

Signs Your Water Problem Is a Freeze

A freeze usually shows up after a night in the teens or single digits, often after a few cold days in a row. Common signs:

• Only a trickle comes out of one or more faucets, or nothing at all.
• The problem is worst at fixtures on outside walls, in a garage, crawl space or unheated addition.
• Frost on an exposed pipe, or a pipe that feels much colder than the ones around it.
• Your neighbors have water and you do not. If the whole street is dry, it is more likely a main break, and your water supplier is the one to call.

The Red Cross points out that frozen sections are most often found along exterior walls or where the water service comes through the foundation.

Safe Ways to Thaw a Frozen Pipe

These steps follow the Red Cross guidance on thawing frozen pipes:

1. Keep the faucet open. As the ice melts, moving water helps melt the rest.
2. Apply gentle heat to the frozen section with an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, a hair dryer, a portable space heater kept away from anything that can burn, or towels soaked in hot water.
3. Never use an open flame. No blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, or charcoal stove. They start fires and can damage the pipe.
4. Keep heating until full pressure returns, then check every other faucet. If one pipe froze, others may have too.
5. Call a licensed plumber if you cannot reach the frozen spot or cannot get it to thaw.

Before you start, know where your main shutoff valve is. A frozen pipe often cracks, and the leak only shows up once the ice melts. If water starts spraying, shut the main off right away.

When the Freeze Turns Into a Repair

Sometimes thawing is not the end of it. A split pipe inside a wall, a frozen and cracked service line under the yard, or burst pipes in a building that sat empty can all mean the water stays off while the work gets done. In New Jersey, plumbing work has to be done by or under a licensed master plumber, and repairs that involve digging, opening walls or replacing a long run of pipe can take several days, especially during a cold snap when every plumber in the county is busy.

That is when people call us. A household or business can live without water for an afternoon. A week without toilets, handwashing, cleaning or a working kitchen is a different problem.

Homes on Private Wells

A home on a well has more places to freeze. The line from the well to the house, the pressure tank, and especially a well pump in an unheated pump house or crawl space are all at risk. A frozen pressure switch or a cracked pressure tank can stop water even when the house is warm. If the freeze damaged the pump or tank, it is the same situation as any pump failure, and our guide to temporary water during a well pump replacement walks through how delivered water bridges the gap.

For homes that already have a cistern or holding tank, refilling it is the quickest fix. See how we fill cisterns and holding tanks.

How Temporary Potable Water Works

We haul certified potable water in a dedicated tanker that carries up to 6,200 gallons. We can fill an existing cistern or holding tank, or fill a temporary food-grade tank that you or your plumber sets up on site. Your plumber can connect that tank to the building with a small pump so toilets, sinks and showers work while the damaged line is repaired. We can come back on a schedule so the tank does not run dry.

What you can use the water for is up to you and, for licensed businesses, your local health department. If you serve food or care for children, ask them early which uses they will allow during the outage.

Farms and Businesses

A freeze can hit a business hard because the building is often empty overnight. Restaurants, offices, medical practices and shops may come in Monday morning to no water and a burst line. Farms have a different worry: livestock still need water when the barn line freezes. Our guide on livestock water during a drought covers how much animals need, and the same planning applies in winter. See our commercial water delivery page for business service.

Preventing the Next Freeze

• Insulate pipes in attics, basements, crawl spaces and garages, and consider UL-listed heat cable on exposed runs.
• Shut the inside valve to outdoor hose spigots, then open the spigot outside so it can drain.
• On very cold nights, let a faucet on an exposed pipe drip and open the cabinet doors under sinks.
• Keep the heat at the same setting day and night, and no lower than 55°F if you will be away.
• Keep a small heater or heat lamp rated for the space in an unheated well pump house, and check it during cold snaps.

All but the last tip come from the Red Cross frozen pipes guidance.

Serving All of New Jersey

A Clear Alternative has been family-run since 1991 from 9230 Collins Ave in Pennsauken, and we hold New Jersey potable water hauler license #0704582. We deliver to all 21 counties, from Sussex and Warren in the north to Cape May in the south. See our emergency water delivery page and service areas.

When to Call A Clear Alternative

Call us once you know the water will be off for more than a day, or as soon as your plumber tells you the repair needs parts, digging or a new pump. Tell us your address, how many people are in the building, whether you have a cistern or need a temporary tank, and where a truck can park. We answer 24 hours a day at 1-888-577-8088, or you can request a quote online.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my pipes are frozen?

If only a trickle comes out of a faucet during very cold weather, suspect a frozen pipe. Look along exterior walls, in crawl spaces and garages, and where the water line enters the foundation.

Is it safe to thaw a frozen pipe with a torch?

No. The Red Cross warns against blowtorches, kerosene or propane heaters and any open flame. Use an electric heating pad, hair dryer, space heater kept away from flammable items, or hot towels.

Who can repair a burst pipe in New Jersey?

Plumbing work in New Jersey must be done by or under a licensed master plumber.

Can you deliver water if my well line froze?

Yes. We can fill an existing cistern or holding tank, or a temporary food-grade tank your plumber connects, while the well line, pump or pressure tank is repaired.

How much water can you deliver at once?

Our potable tanker carries up to 6,200 gallons per trip, and we can schedule repeat deliveries for longer repairs.